More on Health Care

“Today the Republican Conference took us to the brink of disaster by putting forward a fatally-flawed bill which was largely a tax cut for the rich and would have endangered the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans,” said Courtney. “The Republican bill was opposed across the board by nurses, doctors, veterans’ advocates for older Americans and persons with developmental disabilities. It is my sincere hope that Speaker Ryan and President Trump will get serious about governing in a way that represents all Americans, and work with Democrats to craft real solutions which will build on the Affordable Care Act rather than attempting to start from scratch.”

“When you look at what the stakeholders who deliver healthcare in America have been saying, the American Nurses Association, the American Hospital Association, the AARP, and the American Medical Association, who have looked at this bill over the last two weeks - they have universally pleaded with the Congress to block this measure – to slow down the rush to judgement which is going to deprive people of one of the most elemental basic needs that all of us share,” said Courtney. “We are not immortal – we are not immune to getting illness and disease – it is something that affects every single American, and to pass a bill which will wreak this kind of havoc is irresponsible and takes this country in the absolute wrong direction."

“President Trump has insisted over and over again that 'forgotten' working families are his top priority, but the budget blueprint issued by the White House today shows no indication that the needs of families were considered when putting it together,” said Courtney. “If the framework the President proposed today were ever to become law it would deliver a devastating blow to our economy and working families across this country. His proposal diverts critical K-12 funding from our public schools at the Department of Education, decimates USDA Rural Development funding that is so vital for jobs and infrastructure improvements in eastern Connecticut, cuts job training funding that will fill the skills gap in manufacturing, and most appalling, eliminates thousands of medical research grants at the national institute of health that is aimed at curing a wide range of illnesses and disease. This budget also weakens our global strategic position by hobbling the State Department with massive funding cuts that risk damaging our diplomatic corps and international engagement for a generation. Rather than crafting a thoughtful blueprint for the federal government, the president’s budget is instead a declaration of his administration’s far-right political doctrine that intends to undermine our national government and eliminate federal programs that are critical for working families."

“For hundreds of thousands of families this coverage gap is a quiet crisis that threatens access to critical nursing home care or in the alternative shifts thousands-of-dollars in costs to elderly patients,” said Courtney. “This commonsense change will ensure that seniors no longer face thousands of dollars in bills for skilled care because of this arbitrary federal policy. It is very simple: three days in the hospital is three days in the hospital. Anyone who meets that threshold should receive the same benefit from Medicare. Congress should act immediately to restore Medicare’s long history of covering nursing home care for patients after a three-day hospital stay.”

“Seven years ago, in March of 2010, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law after a two-year process of hundreds of committee meetings, exhaustive markups which I personally participated in, floor debate that went on for days, and back and forth between the House and Senate,” said Courtney during his floor speech. “The fact that this measure is going forward in committee tomorrow morning, with less than 24 hours for the American people to have even a glimpse of what is being proposed, and without an any analysis or a budgets score is just an abuse of the legislative and democratic process. We have seen an outpouring of Americans over the last two months at town hall meetings - I have had four of them - telling heartfelt stories about how the ACA helped them. Yes, we can improve the law and there are many ideas we can work together on and that is what we should be focused on – not butchering the law which this proposal seeks to do."

“It’s very encouraging to see how many people were willing to turnout on a Saturday in Willimantic and across the country to show their support for preserving the Affordable Care Act – it demonstrates just how important this law has become,” said Courtney. “Sometimes people forget that many of the protections they now take for granted, like allowing young people to stay on their parent's plans until age 26, ban against lifetime limits on coverage, protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and a prohibition against charging women more for coverage only exist because of the Affordable Care Act."

“These savings are providing critical relief to local seniors who previously had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to obtain their prescription drugs,” said Courtney. “For many eastern Connecticut seniors on fixed annual incomes, the average savings of more than $1,808 per year can often mean the difference between purchasing medication or food, and being able to live with dignity in retirement. This data shows how the Affordable Care Act is working for eastern Connecticut’s seniors, and what is at risk as the debate over repealing law continues in the weeks ahead.”

“I am delighted that President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law today. This legislation was packed with important changes to healthcare policy which will make a meaningful difference in eastern Connecticut and around the country,” said Courtney. “I am particularly pleased that following my bill to authorize emergency funding to fight the opioid epidemic, this law authorized $1 billion dollars for grants to individual states to combat addiction. The Cures Act also contains important changes to tick-borne and Lyme disease research, and incentives for pediatric physicians – both changes mirror provision in bipartisan bills I have been leading for several years.”

“I am very pleased that the 21st Century Cures Act passed with a number of important wins for eastern Connecticut which I have been championing for several years,” said Courtney. “The final version of the Cures Act represents a strong bipartisan effort to address several major outstanding healthcare issues nationwide. I am pleased that a number of my top priorities such as funding to address opioid addiction, changes to tick-borne and Lyme disease research, and incentives for pediatric physicians were included. These provisions will make a real difference for people back home in eastern Connecticut. Since I first introduced a bill calling for emergency funding to address the opioid epidemic in February, support for federal action has been steadily increasing on both sides of the aisle. What this bill demonstrates is that Congress is finally ready to put its money where its mouth is and provide our communities with the support they need to turn the tide on drug addiction. Lyme disease, which is named after a town in my district, has long plagued eastern Connecticut and large swaths of our country. It is time that Congress makes addressing tick-borne diseases a national priority for our medical community. The provisions contained in the 21st Century Cures Act will accelerate the development of new protocols for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of tick-related illnesses like Lyme disease."

"I am very pleased that several top priorities for eastern Connecticut will be included in the final version of the 21st Century Cures Act which is expected to pass this week. From new funding to combat the growing opioid crisis to making the fight against tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease a national priority - this bill contains substantive wins for Connecticut that will make a real difference for people back home. Since I first introduced my bill in February calling for emergency funding to address the opioid epidemic, support has been steadily increasing for federal action on both sides of the aisle. What this bill demonstrates is that Congress is finally ready to put its money where its mouth is and provide our communities with the support they need to turn the tide on drug addiction."